1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an emergency medical diagnosis and therapy system integrating several emergency medical equipment components into a single multi-functional unit within a convenient unitary casing, so that medical personnel can easily handle, access and implement a variety of important emergency tools and therapies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional emergency medical equipment has been improved over the years to advance the ability of emergency medical personnel to administer vital care to patients. Such advancements include voice prompting, automated and individualized patient assessments and self-maintenance of the equipment.
For example, a variety of small, portable on-site devices are available for administering electric pulse therapy in emergency situations of myocardial infarcation and to defibrillate and restart regular heart pump rhythms necessary for sustaining the life of the patient. Most of these Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) devices include electro-cardio diagnosis and monitoring of the patient, and many include voice prompting for the user. There are also known O.sub.2 and CO.sub.2 oximetry and capnography devices for measuring arterial oxygenation, perfusion, O.sub.2 Hb dissociation, tissue O.sub.2 affinity, O.sub.2 content, PO.sub.2, pulse oximetry saturation (SPO.sub.2), or calculated oxygen saturation (%SO.sub.2), because oxygen supplementation is critical in many emergency cardiopulmonary trauma situations. For this latter purpose, there exist a wide variety of oxygen resuscitators, inhalators, or ventilators.
Often, first responder medical personnel have arrived on site to attend the victim with an AED defibrillator, but have been unable to resuscitate and keep alive the victim without supplemental oxygen on hand. In many instances the victim was successfully defibrillated, but poor cell perfusion and toxic gases due to hypoxia prevented successful recovery. In many other instances, the first responder arrived when the vital signs of the victim were declining but could do little until after the victim had begun fibrillation or expired. In the first instances, supplemental oxygen administration may have insured successful survival of the defibrillated victim. In the second instances, supplemental oxygen administration may have even precluded the need for the defibrillator. In both instances, emergency oxygen may have saved the victim by restoring the proper oxygenation and cell perfusion necessary for survival.
Heretofore, each piece of emergency equipment has typically been contained in its own housing or carrying case and used independently, as a stand-alone unit. Handling each piece of equipment separately, however, is inconvenient and cumbersome for medical personnel, who are often situated in awkward conditions and dangerous circumstances, such as at automobile accident sites. Moreover, the use of separate units ignores the interdependence of administration among the several emergency systems.